Before I logged on to write my post, I was planning on writing something about the pop-up museum and the exhibit related to Abraham Lincoln. Unfortunately it has already been written about in previous posts, so I will try not to be too repetitive.

Before visiting the GLBT office, I had never heard of the accusations made about Lincoln engaging in homosexual relationships throughout his life and during his presidency. While I didn’t have time to sit down and read parts of the book, it was fascinating to me that this is not a larger topic of conversation in American history (or maybe it is and I’m just figuring it out). Is it such a taboo subject that people just don’t want to talk about it? It also got me thinking about what the reaction of the people in today’s society would be if it was exposed that a supposedly heterosexual president was engaging in affairs with other men. I’m assuming that it would have a major impact on their career and that their would be a large outcry from the American people, but why? I know that any “sex scandal” dealing with a politician or authority figure is a big deal, but should it make a difference whether those affairs are heterosexual or homosexual? Our society tends to be so sensitive about subjects involving gay relationships that the scandal becomes infinitely more controversial. I am intrigued to learn more about Abraham Lincoln’s supposed affairs and if the allegations were known within the time period. I assume that, given the generation, this sort of controversy would have been almost unheard of. Going to the GLTB center opened up a new line of thinking for me and I am now more aware of how homosexual relationships (even today) are very much kept under the radar and how taboo of a topic it still is.

Hey guys, just wanted to share comments about The Pop-up Museum of Queer History. It was great to be able to see a nationally know art exhibit at the Bloomington LGBTSSS center. The mission statement/ what we do made a really good point,

“The Pop-Up Museum of Queer History is a grassroots organization that transforms spaces into temporary installations dedicated to celebrating the rich, long, and largely unknown histories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. We believe that our community – and especially our youth – deserve to know our history. If you don’t know you have a past, how can you believe you have a future?

I feel that this exhibit has something to offer for everyone. Knowing your past is half the battle, and there are people out there that won’t give recognition to a group if they don’t understand them. This artwork and information broadened my knowledge of LGBTQ history, most especially in relation to the present.

Of all of the artwork there I was most intrigued by the lesbian pulp fiction art/literature. It was something that I had never seen before. After doing some research about the history I was curious to find that the pulp was originally marketed toward men as erotic fantasy. Women also bought the literature, but it was seen as far more scandalous. Personally, when I shop for books the cover and it’s artwork is 80% of the reason that I want to buy it. The provocative catch phrases and images made me think of the artwork as a statement against patriarchal influence while also attracting those very men as part of the reader base for said literature.

In comparison to present day literature, my favorite female author Laurell K Hamilton has similar cover art that echos lesbian pulp in a fashion. It is interesting to see that literature and art that was “taboo” in it’s time, is now a more socially acceptable as covers for reading material. Here are a few of Hamilton’s book covers to compare (visually) to the pulp cover art.

On another note, i found this awesome picture of Abe Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party and thought the class would get a kick out of it.